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Mike Ainsworth

Date:
Tue, Feb. 07, 2012
January 27, 2012

During the past 48 hours, the portrait of a selfless, loving, cheerful man and father has taken shape as a community mourns the loss of Harry "Mike" Ainsworth, shot in the act of intervening in a carjacking in Algiers on Wednesday. With the exception of the New Orleans Police Department--which followed their usual devastating practice of posting prior arrests of shooting victims, callously publicizing Mr. Ainsworth's criminal record via email yesterday--the entire city has supported and respected this grieving family through their trauma.

"I want everyone to remember the good about him," said the stunned partner of Harry Ainsworth on the news--and hundreds of mothers, grandparents, brothers, and children of those murdered in our city nodded in sad understanding at the TV set. Too many families have been through this, and more go through it nearly every day. Too many of these families, moreover, do not receive the support and respect they so desperately need in those moments of shock and grief.

Today, SilenceIsViolence will gather in front of City Hall, as we do each year, to remember each and every one of these victims from 2011, to speak their names in remembrance, and to send a message of support to their families. We invite everyone--citizens, families of those lost, our city leaders, our law enforcement officers--to join us in this somber but important exercise. Until we feel and respect the tragedy of each and every loss, we will lack the unified will to turn the tide of violence in New Orleans. Let today open our hearts to loving and joining each other in healing, constructive action.